Skip to main content

Down Memory Lane: Firefighters

As I was going toward a granddaughter's home, I quickly snapped a picture of a familiar building.  My parents lived in the early 1950s just a block away from the brick building just behind the one in front.  In fact, that garage did not exist when we lived in an apartment on this street.  The all-brick building back then was the main (#1) fire station of our city.  Now it's an education center for trainees.
For some reason, memories of the firemen (only men were firefighters back then) and their marvelous kinship with my younger brother and me were sparked that day.  Back then, it was the second fire station to which we'd lived so close.  Consequently, firemen were friends to us, and sometimes tutors.  Our family did not have a TV in our home till I was about thirteen.  So both in this station and the one prior to this one, my brother and I were allowed to come and watch shows with the firefighters on their down time.  My most beloved memory was of one of the men helping me to memorize the state capitols.  I don't know why, but remembering Maine's capitol city seemed impossible to me.  John (yes, I remember the firefighter's name after all these years!) told me to say it backwards- Maine, Augusta.  That did it!  I also kept track of my height by walking under the ladder of the hook-and-ladder truck in the station.  I was nearly 14 before I was too tall to walk under the ladder without ducking.  So it can be assumed that I respect and love all firefighters because so many reached out in kindness to my sibling and me.  Just think, they could have so easily shooed us away.  

Comments

GB said…
Gosh, Norma. You are in reflective mode at the moment. I love reading posts which give glimpses into the past and give an insight into both life in general and a life (yours in this case) in particular.
Nonnie said…
You are reading "me" so well. Thank you for responding. I felt that I was risking writing such personal posts. I have been burned in the past sharing and making myself vulnerable. Thank you again.
GB said…
I'm sorry to hear that Norma. I really do wonder what makes people do that and what sort of people they are in the first place. Obviously people lacking respect that's for sure.

Popular posts from this blog

A Photo A Day: My Daily Sustenance, Day 355

click here for other cool shots! Blue lights reflected, the date of our fam'ly's start, makes this endearing.

Pondering about My Blog

I've been through quite a bit these past months that I haven't posted.  First, packing and moving and then unpacking . The first step of unpacking was my taking down boxes that were five and six boxes high.  About two weeks after I’d moved and was in the midst of unpacking, I developed horrendous pain in my ribs. I slathered on my gel I use to alleviate Fibromyalgia pain. Realizing that even that was not helping. Trying to make a long story short- Asked for pain pills No help; asked for another kind Doctor wanted to see me Went in- he didn’t understand why I was still in pain Sent me to get x-rays Diagnosis: compressed fracture in my 9th vertebra Cause: osteporosis Now on meds for that I’ve discovered that anytime I overdo, pain comes back, not quite full-blown, but enough that I must stop doing whatever I’m doing. That includes sitting at my computer writing. I wanted to bring my friends up-to-date; I’m pondering whether I should stop blogging altogether o

Quirky Poem

Have humans sat here? Not recently, I think. Perhaps a snow couple rested for a while, and the shadowy remnants of them remain. more Cool Clicks